Posted on 08/19/2009 5:06:19 AM PDT by WhiteCastle
VANCOUVER Vancouver patients needing neurosurgery, treatment for vascular diseases and other medically necessary procedures can expect to wait longer for care, NDP health critic Adrian Dix said Monday.
Dix said a Vancouver Coastal Health Authority document shows it is considering chopping more than 6,000 surgeries in an effort to make up for a dramatic budgetary shortfall that could reach $200 million.
This hasnt been announced by the health authority but these cuts are coming, Dix said, citing figures gleaned from a leaked executive summary of proposed VCH surgical reductions.
The health authority confirmed the document is genuine, but said it represents ideas only.
It is a planning document. It has not been approved or implemented, said spokeswoman Anna Marie DAngelo.
Dr. Brian Brodie, president of the BC Medical Association, called the proposed surgical cuts a nightmare.
Why would you begin your cost-cutting measures on medically necessary surgery? I just cant think of a worse place, Brodie said.
(Excerpt) Read more at vancouversun.com ...
I’ve never had anything denied, save for some chiropractic therapies, but that’s what FlexSpending is for.
I think we need to investigate an alternative reform that has the government cover catastrophic care, let consumers foot the bill for preventative and checkups, and establish pre-tax HSA’s for everything in between. It’s an idea that getting some traction, but I don’t know whether it can be implemented in practicality. This would at least prevent people from getting unnecessary “free” services, encourage people to actually care about prevention, and it would return some responsibility to us as individuals to better our lives. Get rid of the insurance outfits and suddenly you have a healthcare system that is substantially driven by market forces (read: price competition), with exception of catastrophic care which the gov’t would have to cover.
Maybe it’s nutty. I don’t know if it’s the answer, but I think it’s at least worth exploring.
I’ve heard that new Zealand has a has a socialized healthcare system that works pretty well.
I just don’t see the point in forcing healthcare on people who don’t want it, and creating another system that is rife with fraud and corruption like Medicare and Medicaid.
If the government is so worried about healthcare, and really feels that it has to provide something for those who don’t have private insurance, then FIX MEDICARE AND MEDICAID FIRST!
Of course, if they’d cut out welfare and make people get jobs to support themselves, they could get private insurance and there’d be fewer people without.
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